Electric cars a good deal for taxpayers

We are averaging 5.5 km per kWh this winter in our Nissan Leaf. We are expecting to drive 15,000 km this year. B.C. has approximately three million registered vehicles with ICBC

If we were to assume most future drivers in the province were doing an equivalent, that would require about 8.18GWh of electricity.

So what is 8.18 Gwh? Well, the Peace River Site C proposal calls for an expected annual output of 4,600 GWh, so driving all those kilometres fully electric would amount to 0.18 per cent of that. Imagine, there would only be an additional 99.8 per cent left to sell and squander elsewhere.

As an aside, the cost of Site C is an expected $8 billion (ie., eight CRD-sized sewage treatment projects) So from a magnitude perspective, $8 billion times 0.18 per cent comes out to $14.2 million. Even at today’s prices, that buys me less than 13 million litres of diesel without the need to drill, pump, pipeline, refine, pipeline, truck, and ultimately combust in my little highway heatpump.

I say divert that fuel to B.C. Ferries for the 1,500 or so round trips that fuel would guarantee us from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen and let us top up on board.

But I suppose all that redirected energy might be bad for the economy. In that case the writer of this letter is correct, rebates for electric cars are bad, and incentives for fast charging stations are “more crazy news.”